Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Matt Kenseth going for fourth Fontana win

KENSETH BY THE NUMBERS:In 23 Sprint Cup Series starts at Fontana, Kenseth has completed 5,397 of 5,399 laps (99.9 percent) and has led for a total of 569 laps. Kenseth is one of two active Sprint Cup Series drivers who leads in top-ten finishes (15) at Auto Club Speedway and is ranked second among drivers for his number of top-5 finishes (nine). Kenseth has earned three wins, nine top-five, 15 top-ten finishes, and one pole at the two-mile track.

TOYOTA MOTORSPORTS DAY: On Thursday, March 17th, Kenseth along with Toyota Racing drivers in both the Sprint Cup and the XFINITY Series will visit Toyota’s corporate offices in Torrance, CA for Toyota Motorsports Day. This will mark Kenseth’s fourth visit to the facility to visit with Toyota employees.

JOE GIBBS RACING AT FONTANA: Joe Gibbs Racing has 69 Sprint Cup Series starts at Auto Club Speedway earning a total of two wins, 16 top-five, and 27 top-ten finishes. The organization also has led for a total of 851 laps, has an average start of 14.7 and an average finish of 16.8 at the 2.0-mile track.

RACE INFO: The Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway (2.0-mile) begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 20th. The race will be broadcast live on FOX, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

Kenseth’s 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts

Wins

Top 5

Top 10

Poles

Laps Led

Avg. Start

Avg. Finish

4

0

0

1

0

96

6.0

19.2

Kenseth’s Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats:

Starts

Wins

Top 5

Top 10

Poles

Laps Led

Avg. Start

Avg. Finish

582

36

163

291

17

10,478

17.8

14.2

From the Cockpit:Matt Kenseth: “One of the keys to Fontana is being able to fire off pretty quickly on restarts and still be decent on the long run. The track surface has really aged, there’s a lot of different grooves, and the seams are a big deal there. I think the team that can get the right setup, and also adapt to be able to run quick for a few laps, yet still be good in the long run, those will be the guys to beat. Late in the run when the groove moves around a lot. It’s challenging to get into your rhythm doing what you need to do in order to be fast on whatever line you’re running, and being able to adapt to the differences between the high lane and the low lane is important. Fontana is a really wide track and there’s always been passing there and some awesome finishes to races over the years.”

From the Pit Box:Jason Ratcliff: “I think Fontana will be a good track for this new aero package, kind of like Kentucky was, because Fontana has an old track surface and you can move around since it’s typically two or three lanes wide. All of those factors make for good racing in general, and then when you add in this new aero package, I think that it will improve the racing action on top of that. I think that this weekend at Fontana will be one of the better races so far, kind of like what we saw at Atlanta. I just think it’s going to be a really good race this weekend, and it’s a track where Matt (Kenseth) has a great performance record at as well.”

About DEWALT:DEWALT is a leading manufacturer of industrial corded and cordless power tools, power tool accessories, and hand tools in categories that include Woodworking, Drilling & Fastening, Concrete & Metal Power Tools, as well as Cutting, Abrasive, and IMPACT READY® Impact Driver Power Tool Accessories. Hand Tool categories include Measuring & Layout, Knives & Blades, Mechanics Tools, and Storage Solutions.

With seven manufacturing locations in the USA, DEWALT remains committed to domestic manufacturing and produced approximately 62 million individual units of Power Tools, Hand Tools, and Accessories in the United States with global materials in 2015 alone.

DEWALT tools can be found nationally and internationally, wherever tools are sold. With more than 1,000 factory-owned and authorized locations, DEWALT has one of the most extensive service and repair networks in North America. For more information, visit www.dewalt.com or follow DEWALT on Facebook and Twitter.